Good to Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have to Do Is Die - Brand New, Lacey, Jesse

Play Crack the Sky - Brand New, Lacey, Jesse

While anything but novel, the follow-up to Brand New's emo-punk-blast debut Your Favorite Weapon features unexpected touches and wisps of maturity. YFW was all about the rage and misery of young, explosive love, presented ... more »with Weezer-like hooks. Deja Entendu isn?t really over it yet; lead singer Jesse Lacey still sounds damaged and full of self-loathing on mopey, post-Smiths pop like "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot." But amidst the Jimmy Eat World choruses are experiments with sudden dynamic shifts and style (like Lacey channeling Adam Duritz for "Play Crack The Sky"), along with ruminations about the misery of cancer ("Guernica"). If Deja Entendu sounds like the work of musicians discovering their talents, it's also about learning that desperate heartache isn't just about girls who don?t call back. --Matthew Cooke« less

Synopsis

Amazon.com

While anything but novel, the follow-up to Brand New's emo-punk-blast debut Your Favorite Weapon features unexpected touches and wisps of maturity. YFW was all about the rage and misery of young, explosive love, presented with Weezer-like hooks. Deja Entendu isn?t really over it yet; lead singer Jesse Lacey still sounds damaged and full of self-loathing on mopey, post-Smiths pop like "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot." But amidst the Jimmy Eat World choruses are experiments with sudden dynamic shifts and style (like Lacey channeling Adam Duritz for "Play Crack The Sky"), along with ruminations about the misery of cancer ("Guernica"). If Deja Entendu sounds like the work of musicians discovering their talents, it's also about learning that desperate heartache isn't just about girls who don?t call back. --Matthew Cooke

CD Reviews

Deja Entendu? Hardly...

Candice Elise | Los Angeles, CA | 06/18/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Translate the title of Brand New's brand new album (heh) from French to English and you come up with "already heard." Fortunately for music listeners 'round the world, this is hardly the case. After my third listen, I believe it's safe to say that Deja Entendu can generally be described as "experimental". And emo. Very very emo.Admittedly, after giving the disc an initial spin, I was shocked. What the heck happened to my Brand New?! Where's the poppy catchiness?! WHERE IS IT?! If any of you kids are looking for another "Seventy Times 7," you'd best try the next Taking Back Sunday album. Deja Entendu is mellow but harder, slower but more intense, and all out just incredibly DIFFERENT than the band's debut album, "Your Favorite Weapon."I'd say the stand-outs are:
Track 4 - "Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't" - These lyrics are really something else. Starts off slow, builds up, then blows up.
Track 5 - "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" - The closest thing reminiscent of YFW. This song riffs like mad, and is easily one of the most mature songs Brand New has written to date.
Track 8 - "Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis" - Basically just a really great song. Sounds a bit like "Soco Amaretto Lime". The melody is touching... very emotive.
Track 10 - "Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I have To Do Is Die" - Crazy title, eh? This song is an epic seven minutes, full of catchy hooks, and perhaps the most experimental of the lot.Bright Eyes fans will notice similarities between both bands' singers, especially in "I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light" (Mr. Oberst would be jealous) and the acoustic and heartfelt "Play Crack The Sky." Also, there is generally a lot more singing on the album, whereas in the past, Brand New has been known for their "scream-a-long" type vocals. While the choruses come in with the dual vocals that are classic East Coast style (Taking Back Sunday, Thursday), they are slower here than on the last album.Overall, Deja Entendu is surprising, and much unlike anything Brand New (or anyone) has ever done. My advice is not to write it off after the first listen. No, it won't "grow on you" (this isn't cancer, people, it's MUSIC), but you might be surprised if you give it another go. Don't miss out on what may be the best release of 2003."

WOW i couldn't believe it!!

Tyler Navoichick | Wisconsin, WI USA | 02/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I will be honest right off the bat. I never gave "emo" a chance, i am into grunge and led zeppelin and stuff, But when i heard this cd it blew my mind. I couldn't believe that a band acctually can still make good music today here is a song by song review of this great cd.1.Tautou- This isn't the greatest song. It is still a nice "opener" song though. The emotional singing technique sounds good though. (3/5)2.Sir Transit Gloria...Glory Fades- The bass riff in this blew my mind. The chorus hits you in the chest and blows you back. Lyrically it is very interesting Ive never heard another song like it. (6/5)3.I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light- This has a really cool acoustic intro and the chorus is solid. Overall it is a great song. My favorite part is the Bridge. (4/5)4.Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't- Crazy name but and amazing song. This song is just unbelievable lyrically and musically. The bridge lyrics when just the bass plays blows my mind every time i hear it. (5/5)5.The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows- This song is just great. The Chorus is so rock solid it scares me. The way he screams "The quiet things that know ever knows" gives me goosbumps. (5/5)6.The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot- One word-- WOW. This song is so well written. It is by far one of the best acoustic songs i've ever heard. It is one of my favs on the cd. (6/5)7.Jaws Theme Swimming- The main riff in this song is just pure genius. The song i think though kind of drags. Good solid Chorus though. (4/5)8.Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis- This song is really cool. It has some of the best lyrics of the cd. The way he sings this song is just amazingly genius. (5/5)9.Guernica- This is an good song. The drums really move this song, which is cool. The Chorus is really really good. (5/5)10.Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die- This song just really moves me from beginning to finish, even though it is long. The Chorus, again, is amazing. (5/5)11.Play Crack The Sky- This song blew me away. IT is such a good song. Lyrically Musically and the he sings it is so genius. The end lyrics when there is like 3 layers of singing gives me goosebumps. (6/5)All in All this cd really opened my mind that there really is good music out there still. The songs are really cool to sing to a girl (or boy) that you like, trust me they will be all over ya. But that is not what this CD is about, it is about good music. That is what life is for."

Matured, But Still Amazing

brandnizzle023 | Erie, PA | 12/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first started getting into Brand New, I had downloaded "Seventy Times 7" and "The Shower Scene" (both on Your Favorite Weapon). Needless to say, I loved both songs, especially the former, and went out to buy the CD. It was more like your typical emo album - nothing truly original, just some well-written songs about heartache. Months later, when I picked up their sophomore album, Deja Entendu, I was surprised, but surely not disappointed. In fact, it went on to become one of my personal favorite albums - ever.
Perhaps you think that's stretching it a little, but then again, perhaps you haven't heard this album. It is evident that Brand New, Jesse Lacey in particular, has matured, both in songwriting and in terms of sound. From heavy bass lines to distortion to beautiful acoustic melodies, this album has something for everyone. While Brand New still focuses on heartache sometimes, like in "Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades" and "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot," other songs on the album reflect different issues, such as cancer and greedy businessmen. And, as expected, Jesse's voice is ever-expressive. You feel the pain that he feels when he sings about his grandfather being diagnosed with cancer. Wherever he is, no matter what situation he's in, you're right there with him, experiencing every moment.
As in most reviews, I'll give a basic rundown of the songs.
1. Tautou - This is like an intro track. Clocking in at 1:42, the only lyrics are "I'm sinking like a stone in the sea/I'm burning like a bridge for your body". Not too much can be said for it, but it's a nice intro.
2. Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades - This song has some great bass. Really, it does. But music aside, this song is about a boy who's suddenly found himself in a situation where he's growing up a LOT faster than he actually wanted to. Surely a song where people can relate.
3. I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light - This little number starts out acoustically, but builds. From what I can gather, it's about traveling and being homesick.
4. Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't - This is one of the first songs that I ever learned how to play on the guitar. Jesse's lyrics are honest as far as he's concerned, writing such lines as "Oh, it hurts to be this good" and "These are the words you wish you wrote down/This is the way you wish your voice sounds." Different styles of music are evident throughout.
5. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows - Brand New's first single. I think. Either way, it's an excellent song. The bridge is, by far, my favorite part.
6. The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot - This is one of the true standout songs on this album. It's an apology from Jesse to an ex-girlfriend that he dumped for no reason. Mostly acoustic.
7. Jaws Theme Swimming - This song has a different sound than most songs on the album. It has a rather jazzy feel to it, I think.
8. Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis - I love this song. It's...well, I guess that, in a sense, you could say it's brutally honest. Sample lyric: "I will lie awake/Lie for fun and fake the way I hold you/Let you fall for every empty word I say" Acoustic until the end.
9. Guernica - This is the song that Jesse wrote about his grandfather's cancer diagnosis. In it, he offers his own lungs and wishes that he could enter his grandfather's body and remove all of his cancer.
10. Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention, All I Have To Do Is Die - This is my favorite song. Written about the greed of the men behind the music (i.e. lawyers and such), it's exactly 7 minutes long. I love the guitar part.
11. Play Crack the Sky - This is a well-written metaphor for the terrible world of heartbreak and heartache. Completely acoustic.
This album might be hard for some fans of Brand New (or, in particular, Your Favorite Weapon) to accept, but the change was a good one. Indeed, Jesse, himself, stated that, had they created another YFW, he felt that his fans would be cheated. Whether you're already a Brand New fan or not, I definitely recommend picking up this album, or at least giving it a good listen. You just might think that I made some sense."

It hurts to be this good...

Vikram Joseph | Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK | 03/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this album pretty much on instinct about a month ago, not knowing exactly what to expect having only heard two songs and knowing very little about the band. It has proved to be one of my most satisfying purchases in absolutely ages.Brand New could, I suppose, be classified as emo. But the fact is that they are so far ahead of their rivals that comparisons seem pointless. This, the Long Islanders' second record, is an album which genuinely transcends the barriers of its genre. The album opens with the almost gothic atmosphere of Tautou, with heavy tribal-sounding drums echoing like depth-charges through the murk. It's a short, effective opening mood piece, and out of it's ashes rises the bouncing cannonball bassline of the recent single Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades. The song draws comparisons between a boy's uncomfortable first sexual experience and the loss of the glow of youth, and rises to the screamed final conclusion of "Die young and save yourself!". Like pretty much every song here it's totally compelling in it's dark, poetic lyricism and unflinching detail, and the way in which it uncompromisingly combines anthemic pop-punk with genuine musical sophistication.I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light is a disillusioned rumination on touring and homesickness ("I would kill for the Atlantic but I am paid to make girls panic while I sing"), moving seamlessly from an acoustic opening to a sing-along pop chorus. The track which follows it, Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't, is a real standout. It starts off with a sparse guitar accompaniment and singer Jesse Lacey's excellent vocals right in the foreground, before exploding into one of the best choruses of the last year. The cocky sheen of the lyrics ("Oh, it hurts to be so good") hides a soft, tender core of bitterness and self-doubt. It's so rare to hear a song with so many different levels to work on, especially one which sounds so good.The truth is, there's so much to love about this band. The way that they deal so effectively and so poetically with subject matter most other bands wouldn't touch with a thirty-foot stick, and the way Lacey just keeps coming out with classic one-liners ("My tongue's the only muscle in my body that works harder than my heart"). The brilliant musical touches, like the siren guitar riff and awesome dual assault vocals in the chorus of the blistering first single The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows. The fabulously overblown and sometimes completely irrelevant song titles. The way in which Lacey can switch so smoothly between singing like an angel to belting out the most emotive scream you can imagine. The breathless soft/loud dynamic shifts which populate the album, and the band's equal affinity for frenzied rockouts like Sic Transit Gloria and for delicate acoustic pieces like The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot (see, another great title!). The way the darkness of the songs never stops them from being completely moving and easy to relate to. Honestly, I could go on and on.It's also one of the most consistent albums I've heard in ages. Only the closer Play Crack The Sky is remotely short of excellent, having a lot of bad nautical metaphors and sounding somewhat uncomfortably close to a Dashboard Confessional B-side. Two more standout tracks are Me v Maradona v Elvis and Guernica. The former track combines the album's loveliest melody with it's most disturbing lyric. The song rides on a gorgeous, gently throbbing guitar line which evokes the warmest, mellowest summer evening you ever experienced, and yet although the lyrics deal graphically with the protagonist using a woman for sex ("Who will cast the first stone? You can sin or spend the night all alone"), there's never an uncomfortable overlap between the two aspects of the song. It just melts together seamlessly. Guernica concerns the cancer diagnosis of Lacey's grandfather, and has an incredibly poignant and honest lyric. It opens menacingly with machine-gun drumming and sharp guitars, and builds up to one of the most white-hot and searingly powerful middle eight sections I have ever heard.This is a band with a hell of a lot of potential, and this is an album which is fiercely intelligent, both delicate and explosive, and in short damn addictive. It's a record which I can reccomend almost unreservedly to everyone on this site. On Tommy Gun, Lacey sings, "We admit to the truth - we are the best at what we do." You know what? I think they could be right."

How can they top this?

Daniel Ortiz | 06/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"-------Deja Entendu is an amazing, amazing C.D. Let's get that straight right now. If you do not own this album or havent illegally downloaded it yet, something is wrong with you. From start to finish, it is a masterpiece.-------Deja begins with a semi-soft, spacey intro, entitled "Tautou", where Lacey and Co. repeat the simple lines "I'm sinkin' like a stone in the sea, im burning like a bridge for your body" over a loud drum beat and appregiated guitars. The cymbal crashes lead into "Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades" a song about a boy nervous during his first sexual encounter with a controlling girl. This song features some groovy bass work that makes the song memorable alone, not to mention the loud, catchy chorus.--------At the end of Sic Transit, Lacey screams "Die young and save yourself!" Which immediately leads into the acoustic guitar in "I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light" A song sung from the mouth of a tired, burnout Lacey, with lyrics such as "If looks could really kill, my profession would be staring" and "i am paid to make girls panic while i sing". This song ends with some crazy feedback which leads into the quiet palm muted guitar of the next song...notice a pattern with the segues yet?-------"Okay I believe you, but my tommy gun dont" is a five minute song about and ego crazed person, who this person is, i do not know. With lyrics like "i am heaven sent, dont you dare forget;these are the words you wish you wrote down, this is the way you wish your voice sounds" we can tell that Lacey likes himself-alot. The loud guitars at the end of this song lead into the soft intro of the next one.-------"The Quiet things that no one ever knows" is my second favorite song on the album. The simple, yet awesome sounding lead riff makes the song alone, throw in the catchy screaming of the chorus, in which lacey and i believe accardi trade of lines, its something you should all hear. this time the feedback is loud at the end but quiets down into the soft acoustic guitar off the next song.-------"The Boy who blocked his own shot" is a softer song, with harsh lyrics. "its cold as a tomb, and its dark in your room, when i sneak to your bed, to pour salt in your, wounds." The lead guitar is very effect heavy, using phasers and such, it goes very well with laceys acoustic rhythm.-------"Jaws theme swimming" has a bouncy little guitar line while lacey somewhat groans out the lyrics, until the chorus hits you like a ton of bricks and lacey and accardi do the trading off lines thing again, then breaks into a nifty little guitar solo and then we are off to the next song.-------"Me Vs. Maradonna Vs. Elvis" is probably the slowest song on the cd, about an alcoholic girlfriend. it uses a soft chorused guitar as opposed to an acoustic, which would also be appropriate. The last chorus in the song features the whole band, and ends the song well.-------"Guernica" is a song about laceys grandfathers battle with cancer, and how he feels hopeless about it. 'if i could i would shink myself, sink through your skin to your blood cells, cure whatever makes you hurt, but i am too weak to be your cure"-------"Good to know that if i ever need attention all i have to do is die" is a catchy song that clocks in at 7 minutes exactly, featuring somewhat abnormal guitar work and powerfull basslines, the song is good and doesnt seem as long as it is.-------Ahhhh. the last song on the cd. that was quick, we are here, "Play Crack the Sky" is AMAZING. the best song on the cd in my opinion, it has no actual chorus, and clocks in at around 5:30. Its mostly just Lacey and an acoustic with a little backing vocals until the end which features the whole band either mimicing or echoing lacey, and it is something you must hear. the song ends with jesse putting down his guitar and leaving the room singing a song. -------Musicianship-5/5Lyrics-5/5Length-5/5Vocals-5/5Packaging-5/5Overall-Believe it or not-5/5